


R-Evolution

by KittehBoesternchen



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, 終わりのセラフ | Owari no Seraph | Seraph of the End
Genre: Angst, Coordinator!Shinoa, F/F, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Pining, Pokémon Trainer!Mika, Pokémon Trainer!Yuu, Professor!Krul, Slow Burn, Team Sanguinem, mikayuu, more tags as story progresses, teen crushes, the Pokémon AU no one asked for, trainer journey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 12:28:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6116476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittehBoesternchen/pseuds/KittehBoesternchen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After years of moving from town to town with his mother, Mika finally found a home in Escissia. The day Shinoa left to become a famous coordinator, his mother was kidnapped from her lab, forcing Mika to start the journey he never wanted to take to get her back.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Yuu was with him every step of the way. What could possibly go wrong?</p>
<p>The answer to that came sooner than anticipated... everything. Everything could go wrong, from going up against powerful criminals to falling for his best friend. And what's this talk about Pokéballs being banned?</p>
            </blockquote>





	R-Evolution

**Author's Note:**

  * For [6lilystrings9](https://archiveofourown.org/users/6lilystrings9/gifts).



> So I know I have lots of projects I need to finish... but I couldn't wait any longer. This story has been developing in my head for a long time now and it needed to get out because I couldn't concentrate on anything else! I dedicate this to Lily, who has been a tremendous help in planning and plotting and is, in total, a great friend and a wonderful person :3
> 
> The region is loosely based on Kalos, which you explore in the X/Y games. I hope you enjoy!

“Here you go, Shinoa-chan.” The pink-haired woman smiled as she pulled a Pokédex from her lab coat pocket and handed it to the petite girl standing in front of her. “Better late than never, eh?”

 

Shinoa grinned up at the equally short Professor, the small handheld clutched in both delicate hands. “Well, if your son and his princess could make up their minds, we would have left a lot sooner.”

 

“Shinoa-chan, I’m very proud of you,” Krul replied, her hands coming to grasp the girl’s shoulders. Her crimson eyes took in the small Spinarak nestled into Shinoa’s lavender eyes like a gaudy hair ribbon. “You don’t need boys to go on your journey, you know? You will kick ass all by yourself. And don’t forget to check in regularly, you can call me any time, okay?”

 

“Of course!”

 

“Here are a few Pokéballs for you. You have your savings? Good. Please remember to always keep Pokéballs and Potions with you. You never know when you’ll come across a particularly cute Pokémon!” Krul leaned in to kiss the girl’s cheek. Shinoa looked deceptively adorable in her summer dress and sneakers, but the Professor didn’t have a doubt that this girl would make her way in the world. “Off you go, now. Have fun!”

 

While Krul wandered back to her lab, she canted her face into the bright, warm sunshine and closed her eyes with a light smile. Coming here had been the best idea she’d ever had, honestly, not just for her and her research – for Mika too. Her son had turned fourteen just a few days ago, his fourth birthday he had been able to spend here in tiny Escissia among friends instead of the big town they had come from. Krul had been glad to leave the region she had lived in for most of her life… where she had gotten into trouble, had loved, had lost. Had Mika. It had been for her son that she had left her previous life behind. She glanced back towards the gate of their tiny town, where she could see Mika’s messy mop of ash-blonde hair gleaming in the sun next to the wild dark hair of Yuu, his best friend, as they said goodbye to Shinoa. She could hear the excited yips of the boys’ Eevees as they tiny fluffballs chased each other around the teens’ feet.

 

Life was good, here.

 

“I’m so jealous you get to go,” Yuu groaned, arms behind his head. Shinoa had talked about leaving for close to a year now, but it seemed she was fed up with waiting for her friends to join her in her endeavor now.

 

“Well, if you guys weren’t such spoiled princesses, we could be halfway to Illumina right now,” Shinoa grinned back at him. “I know Mika-san is a hopeless case, but why won’t you go? You’d be a great trainer, Yuu-san.”

 

Yuu glanced at the blonde standing next to him, who had bent down to pick up his Eevee, Knight, who was being chased around by Yuu’s Eevee, Asura. The brown little thing burrowed into his shirt with a soft purr when he pushed his fingers into the soft fur. “Nah,” he replied with a smile. “Not yet. I’ll go train in Papa’s gym when I’m older and be a gym leader like he is!”

 

“You’d have to get battle experience for that,” Shinoa snorted. “Guren-san won’t let you apprentice under him if you don’t get experience. He’d want you to go. Last chance, princess.”

 

“I’ll miss you, Shinoa,” Mika chuckled, balancing on one leg; Asura had snagged his sock with her tiny, sharp teeth and was tugging at it, demanding her brother back, and Mika was trying to subtly nudge the insistent Eevee away. “Yuu-chan, could you…”

 

“Asura, you little brawler!” Shinoa reacted before Yuu could, swooping down to snag up the little Pokémon and hold it up with both hands. “I will miss you most, you keep raising hell, okay?” Asura merely squirmed with indignant little yips and growls until Yuu took her away from him. “We will see each other again,” Shinoa continued, looking at the boys. “That is; once I’m a famous coordinator, you will see me. On billboards and on TV and stuff. Ta-da!”

 

“There she goes,” Mika commented as they watched her walk through the gate of their little town and soon vanish around a corner. “You could have gone with her, you know. This was a great chance you missed, you wouldn’t have been alone.”

 

“Then I’ll just have to wait until you’re ready to come with me,” Yuu replied with a broad grin, letting Asura jump down; she ran to the gate and yipped after Shinoa as if complaining that the girl had picked her up, then trotted back to where the boys stood. “I want to see the world, Mika, but the world will be there still when you’re ready to come with me.” He turned to walk back further into the village, only glancing back to see if Mika was following him. The blonde stood where he had, glancing out of the gate with Knight having dozed off in his arms. “Mika?”

 

The other boy turned his head to look at him, his blue eyes soft when they landed on the dark-haired boy. “Yuu-chan,” he murmured, then shook his head and turned to follow him. Mika knew Yuu was burning up with enthusiasm to go on his trainer journey and the younger boy would be an amazing trainer; he was kind, ambitious, eager. He was also immensely stubborn and while that characteristic usually made him fight for what he wanted, in this case it held him back from doing what he wanted. Yuu had decided he would go on a trainer journey with Mika or not at all.

 

Mika didn’t want to leave.

 

The blonde was perfectly happy in tiny Escissia. He had been dragged around all over the region he had formerly lived in by his mother who had chased after science and research, never making any friends because he had never stayed long enough to get close to anyone. It had been a solitary existence, one that Mika hadn’t enjoyed very much, but it had awoken his love for science. And they had come here… into this little town, and his mother had promised they would finally settle down here. The climate was different, much warmer, and the people were open and friendly towards them in a way Mika had never experienced. Maybe it was that the region he had been born in was naturally less warm and open in landscape as well as people, but the way they had been welcomed – Yuu had latched onto Mika like an Aipom and to everyone’s surprise, Mika had clung right back. When Mika had found two abandoned Pokémon eggs outside of the gate when he had been on an errant for his mother to Aquarellia, the next town over, he had given one to Yuu; about a year ago, the eggs had hatched into a pair of tiny, fluffy Eevees.

 

_“I’m going to call her Asura!” Yuu had exclaimed, holding the tiny ball of fur between his palms. Mika had snickered._

_“Asura, like the legendary sword? Yuu-chan, this is a really small Eevee. Most people would pick a name like Fluffles or something.”_

_“Well,” Yuu had replied, color high in his cheeks, immediately flustered as he held the small thing close to his chest, “just because she’s cute doesn’t mean she can’t be kick-ass, you know?”_

_Mika considered this, his own baby Eevee nibbling at the pad of his thumb. “That’s true,” he conceded. “You will be Knight, then,” he told his own Eevee, picking another bite of Pokémon food from the baggie Krul had given them to feed their new friends with. He yipped back at him happily._

The Eevees had turned out to be a perfect match for their owners; Asura was as energetic and volatile as Yuu was, while Knight preferred quiet times and would be perfectly happy to be napping on Mika’s lap while the blonde read or took notes around the lab.

 

“I’m not leaving you behind,” Yuu told him when Mika came to join him, the teens falling into a comfortable walk through the village until they came to Yuu’s house, more specifically the old tree house his father had built long before he had been offered the gym leader job in Relievera. Yuu put Asura into the hood of his shirt and agilely clambered up the rope ladder, Mika following. “You’d be lonely without me, wouldn’t you?” he asked when Mika’s blonde head came up over the ledge of the tree house.

 

“Well, sure. You’re my best friend,” Mika replied, pulling himself up fully to scoot to his usual spot on the square floor, a blanket spread out by one wall. Knight stretched and curled up against Mika’s thigh for another nap; Asura prowled the tree house for a moment before trotting over and snuggling down beside her brother. Mika’s hand idly petted both, only able to determine where one Eevee ended and the other began by their difference in fur; Knight’s was silkier since he actually enjoyed being brushed and would sit still, while Asura had no patience for such things, her fur a little coarser. “I’d miss you like crazy. Especially since Shinoa is gone now, too.”

 

“See, so I won’t leave you.”

 

Thing was, Mika did feel guilty about that. He wanted Yuu to be able to do what he wanted without Mika holding him back; he had no doubt Yuu would flourish on such a journey. His best friend had the curious ability to pull in everyone he met effortlessly; everyone that met Yuu came to adore him. Mika was no exception. Yuu scooted over, flat on his belly, and pushed his face in against his Eevee. It was almost too easy for Mika’s hand to migrate into Yuu’s hair from Asura’s ruff; with amusement he noticed how similar Yuu’s hair felt to Asura’s fur, soft but a little tangled, a little windblown. He wondered how well Yuu would take a good brushing – probably about as well as Asura did, squirming and complaining. “You’re holding yourself back from what you really want.”

 

“No,” Yuu replied, muffled by Asura’s fur. “Not really.”

 

“But you really want to go.”

 

“What I really want,” Yuu said, one green eye glancing up at Mika, “is to be there for my best friend. I’m either leaving with you or not at all.” His eye closed, his decision final. Mika smiled lightly and stroked the dark hair back from his forehead.

 

“Yuu-chan is too kind,” he sighed. He wasn’t sure how to deal with such loyalty.

 

 

 

A loud bang and shouts woke Mika, hours later. He had stayed over at Yuu’s place; they would trade houses every few days, but ever since Guren had left for his job, they had become truly inseparable. Krul had taken it upon herself to care for Yuu as well – but with her busy job, the boys usually kept only each other company. He sat up, drowsy and disheveled; the room glowed orange. A sudden pang of panic shocked him into full alert; what if the house was on fire?! His hand shot out to Yuu, who slept beside him, part to check if he was still there – it wasn’t unheard of for Yuu to wander to the kitchen at night for a snack, and Yuu couldn’t cook at all – part to wake him up. His hand landed on Yuu’s warm shoulder, fortunately. “Yuu-chan,” he urged, shaking his friend. “Yuu-chan, wake up, something’s wrong.”

 

“Mikaaa, I’m tired…”

 

“Yuu-chan, something is on fire.”

 

“Wha…?”

 

Mika clambered over him to get out, bare feet skidding against the carpet in front of Yuu’s bed. “I said _something_ is _on fire_!” He pulled on his socks, wobbling one leg in his hurry. Yuu sat up, a tousled mess, his skin glowing in the terrible light coming in from outside. Immediately in alert mode, Mika analyzed the situation: it didn’t feel hotter than usual in here, there was no smoke in the room, the glow of the fire came in through the window, so it was safe to bet that Yuu’s home wasn’t on fire. Unfortunately, since the village was so tiny, a fire out of control would be very able to burn it all. With dread heavy in his belly, Mika stepped to the window, hearing Yuu get up as well. He took a step back immediately, hand over his mouth in shock. “It’s… Yuu, it’s the lab. The lab is burning.”

 

He heard the sharp intake of breath behind him and Yuu kicking into motion. A hand grasped Mika’s and pulled him along, away from the window, down the stairs and onto the street, the Eevees at their heels. He hadn’t even put shoes on, out in his pyjamas in the dead of night, but they weren’t the only ones; the bang of the explosion had woken the whole town, and one of their neighbors’ Blastoise was already working on dousing the fire. “Mika, look!” Yuu called over the noise, pointing to the lab where Krul’s Swoobat was dragging her assistant, Sayuri, by the scruff of her labcoat out of the burning building and halfway down the street before fluttering around, shaking soot from its fur and making little coughing wheezes before sinking into Mika’s arms, exhausted.

 

“Sayuri-san!” Yuu fell to his knees next to the young woman, immediately relieved when she opened her eyes, though leaning into his arms to cough when he pulled her up to sit. “Sayuri-san, what happened?!”

 

“They… oh,” she wheezed, coughing again. “They found her. They took her.”

 

“Who did?” Mika asked urgently, stepping closer. _Her_ could only be his mother, which meant she wasn’t still stuck in the burning building. “Who took Mama, Sayuri-san?”

 

Sayuri groaned, struggling to sit up by herself. “Oh, Mika, thank goodness… I thought they would have taken you, too.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Team Sanguinem, Mika. The people your mother was running from.” Her brown eyes were sad when they came to rest on the blonde boy, this kind, intelligent child that Krul had done everything in her power to protect. “You’re not safe here anymore. We have to…” The rest was coughing.

 

“Who’s that?” Yuu asked, looking up at Mika, who could do nothing but shrug. He had no idea who that was – he hadn’t even known his mother had been on the run from someone. One of their neighbors came to bring wet rags and a cup of water for Sayuri and Yuu relinquished the assistant to their care, standing and scooping up their Eeevees, one in each arm, the two boys stepping a bit away. “You don’t know who that is, then?”

 

“No,” Mika replied, fingers idly stroking the soot from the wheezing Swoobat’s fur. “I don’t know. I don’t know why anyone would…”

 

“Kidnap Mama?”

 

It warmed Mika that Yuu had taken to his mother so well he called her Mama too, which made his loss all the more potent. It wasn’t just him who loved her, it was Yuu as well. “I don’t know.”

 

“But,” Yuu urged, “there must be something. _Anything._ We can’t let her be taken like this. She must be scared! She must be worried for you. Sayuri-san said you wouldn’t be safe.”

 

“Look, Yuu-chan…”

 

“Sayuri-san will know. We’ll ask her.”

 

Mika caught his sleeve when he started back towards the young woman. “Let her rest for a bit, first – we can get answers when she feels better. In the morning.” He glanced over to the lab; the fire had been put out and people were swarming it to see if anyone needed to be rescued from the building still. Standing in the middle of the dark street, in front of the shambles of his life, Mika felt helpless. He must have looked it, too, because Yuu stepped closer to lean against his side. He was grateful for the silent support, leaning back. In his arms, Swoobat sneezed.

 

In the morning, they found out Sayuri had been brought to Aquarellia to be checked over by the doctor who lived there. “We’ll take Swoobat with us and go visit her,” Yuu urged him. “We need to know! What else would you want to do? There’s nothing here for us anymore. Your mother, my father, Shinoa, all of them are gone now. There’s nothing.”

 

Mika wanted to argue that this was their home – but Yuu had a point. Their homes were empty, it was only the two of them. “You and me,” he said softly. “It’s just you and me anymore.”

 

“And it will be you and me on the road too! Stop being afraid, Mika!”

 

“I’m not…” But he was. The open road seemed dangerous now that he had gotten used to living in one place for so long. Mika was afraid and the realization jolted him. “Let’s go. At least to see Sayuri-san,” he agreed. “Then we’ll see what to do. Okay?”

 

Yuu grinned at him wildly. He had been packing his backpack while they had discussed the topic, and him zipping it up decisively was the last thing that spurred Mika into agreeing. Escissia without his mother was bad enough. Escissia without his mother, Shinoa, Sayuri _and_ Yuu?

 

No. He would not leave Yuu’s side.

 

Packing his own backpack didn’t take very long. Change of clothes, some food, money, potions for the Pokémon should they have to fight wild ones – Krul always kept a few in the fridge, fortunately. Stepping out of the gate, Swoobat fluttered around them excitedly. It had been his mother’s partner for as long as Mika could remember, he had grown up with it; he was sure Swoobat would do everything to protect them, should the need arise. It felt a lot safer than to just leave with Knight, even if Yuu and Asura were there as well, the little Eevees didn’t have battle experience. They would play and scuffle, yes, but nothing to level up. Swoobat would be more than enough to fend off wild Pokémon. Mika felt trepidation still as he followed Yuu down the path. It wasn’t far to Aquarellia but there were patches of high grass; while Mika made a point to stay clear of them, Asura eventually sprang away from Yuu and right into one patch. There was a rustle, a few shrieks and the flap of wings and a few moments later, Asura trotted out of the patch, head held high, an unconscious Fletchling caught in her mouth.

 

“Mika, look! Asura won her first battle!” Yuu crowed, squatting down to pet his little companion. “It’s a shame we don’t have any Pokéballs though,” he tacked on, gently taking the small bird Pokémon and put it down on some soft grass so it could wake up and flutter away in time.

 

“Don’t you think it’s worrisome she just… roused up a wild Pokémon and fought it?” Mika frowned, looking down at the little brawler; Knight was draped over his shoulder as he usually was, tiny claws hooked into his hoodie.

 

“Why? I think it’s awesome!”

 

“But, Yuu, you’re supposed to tell her which attack to use and stuff. She’s not supposed to go off on her own.”

 

“She has to get stronger some time,” Yuu reasoned. “See, I told you she would kick ass. You’re so cool,” he cooed down at Asura, who trotted beside him with her chest puffed up with pride. It wasn’t long before she jumped away again.

 

By the time they arrived in Aquarellia about an hour later, their path was littered with unconscious Pokémon and Mika had had enough of Yuu lamenting the lack of Pokéballs. “Yuu, she just left like ten wild ones in the dust. You can only carry around six at most, you know that right? Catching _every_ Fletchling is just going to fill up your boxes uselessly.”

 

Yuu pondered this, then nodded. “You’re right. It’s not fair to catch them only to put them into storage! I will only catch the Pokémon that are going to be my companions. Oh, but which ones will I pick…” Mika smiled lightly as Yuu counted off the Pokémon he would consider for his team as they made their way to the small clinic; he had been right after all, Yuu was primed to be a trainer.

 

Sayuri, fortunately, was already much better, although the doctor would keep her a little longer just to make sure. “It’s the smoke,” she explained to them, her hair unbound around her shoulders. “I feel much better, though. You’re so sweet for visiting me, boys!”

 

“Sayuri-san,” Mika said quietly where they sat by her bed on plastic chairs, “please… tell us what happened last night.” When her face pulled into a worried frown, he went on without letting her speak. “She’s my _mother,_ Sayuri-san. We’re really worried, we have to know.”

 

She heaved a deep sigh. “I promised I would never speak of this… but I guess these are desperate times, hmm?” Sayuri nodded, eyes on her lap. “Your mother… she’s brilliant. She really is. To be so young and such a genius; when she was in her teens, she got tangled up with these people. They call themselves Team Sanguinem, and they’re like… I don’t even know, it’s all very secretive. They’re bad people, Mika. I don’t know what they’re planning to use your mother for, but it can’t be good.”

 

“So,” Yuu said, frowning. “They’re like, criminals? Is that it?”

 

“My mother was involved with a criminal organization?”

 

Sayuri nodded again. “As I said, I don’t know what their plans are. They aren’t active at all in this region, that’s why Krul chose to come here, to get away from them. And if your mother is running, Mika…” She looked up at him solemnly. “She’s in deep trouble.”

 

“We have to get her back,” Yuu said firmly. “No, Sayuri-san, don’t give me that look; someone has to! If we won’t, who will?”

 

“Yuu-chan, we’re not strong enough to go up against a criminal organization.”

 

“Then we will get stronger!” Seeing the forlorn look on Mika’s face, Yuu’s heart seized in his chest. Mika was so kind, such a good friend, so gentle. _I will be your shield and sword, Mika. I will get stronger to protect you._ “You don’t have to worry. I promise, Mika, that we will find Mama and we will bring her home. And everyone that stands in our path…” With a heavy frown, he glanced down at Asura, who sat on his lap looking up at him attentively, an eager gleam in her eyes. “We will make them pay.”


End file.
